4 Bangin, Fuel Sippin, Full Tank Challenge!

First fillup with the truck since march because of the accident and im already seeing better numbers off winter gas and warmer weather. about 24.5 mpg right now. Thats only 2 away from my stock numbers

 

If someone with a ton of time went through this entire thread and averaged each gen/trim mpg that would be pretty interesting to see. Numbers would be high since this is generally a gas mileage conscious group, but interesting nonetheless. I suppose you would have to separate people by stock, intake/exhaust modded, and lifted as well though too much work for this guy ha

 

Just back from a run to the mountains for a Spring weekend work detail. Hauled Dad, chain saw, couple splitting axes, two sleeping bags, some clean clothes, and a cooler. Cooler was empty upon return (some weight savings there). Got 459 miles on 18.6 gallons. Trip to the mountains is not the smoothest road, nor the best for measuring because of the multiple elevation changes and some gravel road running when we get close. This one computed to 24.7 mpg. I've had better mpg but not a better miles/tank. I wasn't trying for a record, but drove mid-day Friday and back mid-day Sunday, so traffic was optimal. Temps were near perfect so no A/C. I've averaged about 21.7 for the 31,000 miles on it so far, so this was not a dramatic increase, but pretty typical of driving away from traffic and lights.

2010 Access Cab 4x4, 5 speed, 4 cyl

 

And your charcoal canister will hold another 2.2

 

380.3 miles on 14.646 gallons for a average of 26.0 MPG. Not bad considering most of that driving was done in 3rd gear on back roads.

 

I was kidding about it holding another 2.2

My point is that is is foolish to try to "stuff" extra fuel into the system.
The rated capacity is 21 gallons.

For one thing, there is no way in hell that a 2" diameter tube that's 2 feet long is going to hold 2.2 gallons, but that's beside the point.

Make it a habit of topping off your tank until you can see the gas from the filler opening and it won't be long before you are getting a CEL and in need of a replacement vapor canister because it's flooded with liquid fuel and will no longer purge properly.

The first sign of a problem, if not the CEL, will be that it will be running like shit because when the purge valve opens, rather than pulling vapor into the intake manifold, it will pull raw fuel and go slobbering rich.

Fill the tank until the nozzle shuts off.
Let it "rest" for 10 seconds.
Hit the lever again on low-flow.
When it clicks off, hang the pump up and be happy with 21 gallons.

 

Filled up today 503.2 miles on 18.283 gallons= 27.5 MPG. Not too shabby for quite a bit of A/C use. It finally dawned on me that the recent increase in MPG, is probably because of my broken cruise control stalk. Have not used that fuel wasteing device for about 2 months.

Today when the pump shut off it read 17.2 gallons, did my usual 4 more shut offs with 5 seconds between each one and only got in one more gallon. FWIW

 

That's about what it was for me.
I've had quite a few fillups that hit or passed 15, but only one tapping on 17 (16.9 actually), and that was the only one with the light. The light had come on less than 5 miles before this fuel stop, so the difference in fuel used between the light coming on and the refuel was only around .2 gallon.

 

Wait.....

So your fuel light came on at 509.4, and you went another 56 miles, burning roughly 2.2 gallons assuming 25.5 mpg and are assuming that the "extra" 2.2 gallons came from the filler neck?

No.

The Toyota rated capacity is 21 gallons. Typically, between 0.25 and 0.5 gallons are not usable (at all), but once you get down to under a gallon you're flirting with fuel starvation on a mild incline (and this is VERY bad on modern EFI engines).

From a bone-dry tank ("factory empty"), you might be able to squeeze 21.5 into it, but our capacity is absolutely not 23.2 gallons.


There are a number of reasons not to run your tank dry.
The only reason to run it dry are to see what your true range is (which is going to vary based on fuel quality, weather, driving conditions, etc...), or you don't have any cash and HAVE to get to work one more trip.
It prematurely wears your fuel pump, it can damage the catalytic convertor, and it can damage pistons and spark plugs.

 

Or the station ripped you off.

There's a reason your local department of weights and measures audits gas stations and certifies the pumps. There are a couple of issues:

Pump calibration - Pump reads 10 gallons, only dispenses 9.
Fuel temperature - Pumps are temperature-calibrated and fuel is temperature controlled. There has been a BIG problem of stations selling "hot" fuel... that is, dispensing fuel that is far above the 70 degree standard.

When getting "hot" fuel, the volume of the fuel moving through the pump is measured correctly, but when it cools to ambient, it contracts. Same effect... pump says 10 gallons, but when it hit the cold tank you end up with 9.

Personally, knowing that the low fuel light comes on at 17 gallons, and knowing that I only used no more than 2.5 (and likely only 2), I'd have been raising hell with the local code enforcement people if I managed to put more than 19.5 gallons in my tank.

 

I can't remember what the exact issue was...it was something about difficulty starting after overfilling the tank. Sorry I can't be of much help on that one.

 

About 2300 at a real 70 MPH(GPS) on mine. About 2200 RPM indicated on the speedometer.

The two things that have increased my mileage the most are not using cruise control and learning to coast properly. If the interstates are not crowded I keep steady pressure on the gas and lose 2-4 MPH up the hills, instead of pushing harder to maintain speed. The difference on my UltraGauge is about 4 MPG average while going up the hill.

These driving mods will net you 2 to 4 MPG total. It is up to you if it is worth it. IMO any money I don't send to the oil barons is a good thing, even if I arrive a couple of minutes later.

 

Altitude, fuel quality (higher ethanol = worse MPG), temperature, and perhaps most importantly... speed.

On a trip to Texas to visit my parents, I was looking forward to getting some good MPG.
Nope. 80mph limit in NM and TX plus 75 in AZ resulted in 22mpg for the majority of the trip.

That's a bit high. I think my 5-lug runs about 2200 at 70 indicated.
I'll take a look tomorrow at 70 indicated vs 70 GPS.

 

I just know mine runs 2000 RPM right at 60 MPH in 5th gear.

 

372 miles 10.6 gallons

 

Verified mine today... right at 2200 at GPS 70mph.

 

That and the prerunner's sit higher in the air and pullling larger and heavier wheels and tires.

 

got 36.2 so far on this tank of gas

 

You driving down hill and having it towed back up?

That's pretty extreme.

The most extreme difference I've seen was in my '94. I normally got about 18, rolling 70 or so on the freeway.
The 55mph limit had recently been repealed, and I had heard that AZ highway patrol was "zero tolerance" for out of state plates on the new 75mph limit.
I hadn't heard anything about the tolerance on US highways (still at 55mph at the time), so I rolled 55mph all the way from Vegas to Phoenix.
I got 33 on that tank.
I was back down to 18 on the 75mph trip from Phoenix to Tucson.

 

Well thats what I am getting in my 4 banger....Corolla lol